‘Thousands’ of cows have been spotted stranded on islands following Hurricane Harvey

Hundreds of cattle have been spotted stranded on higher ground, surrounded by water, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

The Category 4 hurricane made landfall in the US on August 25 and the total rainfall from the storm was the highest ever recorded from a tropical cyclone in the US, from records dating to 1950.

An aerial survey from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) revealed “thousands of cattle in various states of distress”.

“While we know that thousands of pets and the people who care about them have been dealt a terrible blow by Hurricane Harvey, cattle are also suffering, and substantially so,” Dr Dickie Vest, senior medical director of the HSUS’ Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, America’s biggest large animal sanctuary, said.

According to the society the animals are at risk from a lack of fresh water, limited access to food, and stress from the environment.

HSUS announced it will be bringing food and water to the animals in distress, while the Texas Animal Health Commission, a state agency, is also doing its best to respond.

“At HSUS, we care about all animals, and that includes animals raised for food,” Dr Vest said.

“We know that farmers and ranchers are deeply concerned about the well-being of lost and stranded cattle, and we want to help them and to relieve the suffering of the animals to the greatest extent practicable.”

An engineer left a voicemail two days before a catastrophic bridge failure in Miami to say some cracking had been found at one end of the concrete span, but the voicemail was not picked up until after the collapse, Florida Department of Transportation (DoT) officials have said.